A/N: *raises from the ashes* "I live!"

Sorry, I'm so late. I'm a terrible human being. (I was exhausted after finals and then got caught up in re-awakened Higurashi feels and new jigsaw puzzle and... Yeah, I don't really have a legit excuse. OTL )

Days went by, then weeks. By then Eren was completely forbidden from hand-to-hand combat and excessive physical training, his activities limited mostly to experiments with Hanji, an occasional 3DMG course, and cleaning. Eren wasn't exactly happy about this but he had to admit the combat training was getting awkward anyway, with everyone refusing to touch him, their instincts screaming at them to protect, not attack. It was a frustrating experience for all parties involved.

But at least the experiments were getting interesting results and Eren was eager to learn more. Especially after the one time when Hanji wanted to try how his titan was able to protect Eren now in his condition. The experiment was simple. Hanji tried to simulate the situation he and his friends were in during the battle of Trost, when the omega partially transformed to protect the three of them from the canons.

Eren thought it was ridiculous and wouldn't work when Hanji announced he was to protect himself from... pebbles. Pebbles that Hanji would be tossing at him instead of cannon balls. Levi was face-palming in the background as Eren gaped at the scientist who only shrugged, explaining she didn't want to risk hurting him.

Eren suspected even Hanji didn't think it would actually bring any results and was only goofing around but he complied anyway, much to the beta's joy.

"Ready, Eren?" Hanji called from a distance with a wide, toothy grin, a pebble in her hand ready to be tossed.

The omega sighed before he raised his left hand to his mouth. "Ready," he called back after a second.

"Good. Here I, goooo!" Hanji screamed the last part excitedly as she took aim and threw the little stone with more force than the omega expected.

Eren quickly bit into his hand, "Protect" being the only thought on his mind. To everyone's honest surprise, there was a giant explosion and suddenly everything was engulfed in steam.

Hanji and Levi shared a disbelieving look but their heads immediately snapped back in Eren's direction, Levi running off right then, when they heard the shifter cry out in pain.

When the officers were close enough to see Eren through the steam, they couldn't believe their eyes. There was Eren, seemingly completely alright, rubbing his head with a disgruntled expression. He shot Hanji a dirty look when he noticed her. "You didn't have to aim so damn precisely..."

Hanji laughed, partially in relief that the boy was okay, partially at the look on his face and the hilarity of the situation in general. Her laughter trailed off quickly, though, when she realized what she was actually looking at. Then it was all jumping around screaming with joy and theories and fascination.

It appeared Eren didn't transform to protect himself; hence the stone to the head. No; he transformed to protect the baby. Be it consciously or subconsciously, it happened and the result was... disgusting to say the least, as he was apparently desperate to protect his child and so created a dense shield of mashed up meat and broken bones, all growing out of his arm.

Levi couldn't tear his eyes away from the horrifying picture and only his expression made Eren look down too. What he saw startled him enough to accidentally pull his arm out of the lump of meat, much to Hanji's horror.

It was undeniably an interesting discovery that aroused everyone's curiosity but Eren still shuddered at the memory.

"Eren, are you okay? You're trembling; are you cold? Do you need anything?"

The omega blinked a few times at the potatoes he was peeling before looking dumbfounded at Connie, who seemed on the verge of panic. There were a few seconds of silence interrupted only by Ymir's condescending snort.

"Connie... I'm pregnant, not terminally sick or something," Eren stated slowly before shaking his head and sending Connie back to cooking.

The squad was currently on kitchen duty, preparing lunch; or at least most of them were as Jean was dragged away by Hanji for some reason after a hushed, apparently top secret discussion with Armin, and Mikasa was off "bonding" with Levi – which meant they were at the training grounds beating the shit out of each other.

And then of course there was Ymir. The girl was lounging at the table, making fun of everyone, not doing anything and giving the impression of kitchen duty being below her. Krista tried making her stop with the comments at least several times with no result, but everyone was already used to it and only ignored her when her comments were aimed at them, or laughed when they were aimed at the others. No one was actually even upset about her goofing off as they all knew the truth. Ymir had been collectively banned by her squad mates from any and all kitchen activities while still in training as she had an impeccable talent to make everything inedible by just looking at it. Krista tried helping her cook once, observing her every move, telling her what to do exactly, step-by-step. It didn't help. They were all better off with her being her lazy, snarky self in the corner.

Reiner's booming laughter resonated in the kitchen at Connie's mumble of "I was just worried, no need to be so mean."

"You should know preggies are sensitive to being coddled; they like to take everything personally," the blond buffy beta said loudly while slapping his dejected friend on the shoulder.

Eren could only roll his eyes in annoyance. Did he have to be so loud all the time?

As if reading his thoughts, Krista walked over to Reiner and scowled at him, an uncharacteristically stern expression on her face. "Reiner, can you be any louder? You know that's a secret and there would be a load of trouble for everyone if someone hears!" she scolded in her soft, melodic voice. The petite blond huffed, giving Reiner one more warning glare before stomping off.

Reiner gazed after her star struck, mumbling quietly, "She's so perfect even when she's angry; I'm going to marry her." Everyone snickered, turning back to their work, Sasha using the opportunity to try and steal some food. Krista shared a look with Eren that was as exasperated as it was apologetic, not noticing Reiner unconsciously moving towards her in a daze. Eren saw him though, and got ready to throw a potato peal at his friend to wake him up.

But then, everyone froze not moving a muscle, only Eren jumping immediately into a protective fighting stance.

Just as suddenly as the tension appeared, it disappeared again. Everyone relaxed and looked around in confusion, not comprehending what could have just happened.

Only a moment later did it hit them. Angry alpha. Angry alpha saying wordlessly 'stop before you get seriously hurt'. The only problem was... there weren't any alphas in the vicinity; only betas and Eren, an omega.

The squad shared wide eyed looks, looking around in scared confusion, even Ymir breaking her stoic expression and lazy posture, actually taking her feet off the table and straightening up with a frown. "What the hell was that?"

No one was able to give her an answer.

A few hours later Eren lay with his head in Levi's lap, staring absently into the ceiling.

Levi had been watching him for a while, letting his mate think whatever was bothering him on his own terms but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"Did anything happen today?" he questioned softly, running a hand through the omega's brown hair.

Levi felt more than heard Eren sigh before their eyes connected and Eren shrugged, frowning all the while. "I don't... I'm not sure."

Levi raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side. "What does that even mean?"

Eren shook his head to clear it. "It's like... It was so quick I'm not sure it even happened. But everyone felt it so it had to happen. But then, it doesn't make any sense."

"You're not making any sense right now."

"Eren groaned, rolling over to bury his face in his mate's shirt. After a while he finally started mumbling, trying to explain. "While we were preparing lunch, for a second it felt like there was a really angry alpha."

"They didn't try to attack you, did they?" Levi interrupted, suddenly angry himself.

"What? No. I told you, it was only for a second. But more importantly, and that's what's so weird about it..." Eren paused, rolling back over, his frown deepening. "There wasn't any alpha around. It was just the squad there but Jean was with Hanji or wherever and Mikasa was with you. No alpha."

Now Levi was frowning as well, but before he could say anything, Eren continued.

"Moreover, now that I think about it, it was a really strong feeling, stronger than what Mikasa or Jean could cause. It was an adult alpha."

Levi hummed deep in thought. "Maybe someone was passing by the window? Or through the mess hall?"

The omega shook his head again. "When we looked, the mess hall was empty. We didn't hear anything either."

"And the window?"

Eren bit his lip in thought. "I don't know. Maybe? But still I don't think... it was gone really fast, too fast for someone going... I really don't know..."

The alpha started scratching the other's head gently in an effort to calm him down, sensing his growing distress. "I'll talk to Erwin about it and we'll look into it, sounds good, kid?"

"You're terrible at comforting," Eren accused despite the smile that appeared on his face.

Levi could only click his tongue. "Well, I'm a soldier, not a fucking therapist."

Eren's smile grew even bigger at that as he watched his mate's face turn into a scowl. "I know. I don't want a therapist anyway; power and orders are more of my thing."

Levi stared expressionlessly down at his lap for a few seconds, watching as the last sentence slowly sunk in for Eren and he started turning redder and redder as a result.

Levi rolled his eyes dramatically with a smirk on his face, ruffling the other's hair as he hid his face behind his hands in complete embarrassment.

Levi let Eren suffer in peace and returned to his work soon after that. It was almost time for afternoon training when Eren broke the silence again. "I think I shouldn't have stopped training completely."

"Why so?" Levi asked without looking up.

"I think I'm getting fat."

Levi almost broke the pen in his hand in surprise. His head snapped in Eren's direction but the boy wasn't facing him, still lying on the couch where he left him. "You're not getting fat," Levi stated flatly. He couldn't believe they were actually having this conversation.

"Am too. Didn't you notice? I'm losing my abs."

Levi was silent for a long time contemplating whether he should laugh, face-palm or jump out the window. He opted for neither, instead saying in a carefully measured voice, "Didn't it occur to you, that maybe, just maybe, purely theoretically, that might have something to do with the fact there is a fucking baby growing in there?"

Eren's head popped up over the armrest, a scowl on his face. "No need to be sarcastic."

"You were saying stupid shit. Sarcasm seemed like an appropriate reaction."

The young omega huffed, plopping back down, his head now hanging down from the side of the couch so he was watching Levi upside down, his hair creating a messy halo around his head. Levi dreaded what he would look like once he was up straight again. He didn't keep a hair brush in his office so he could only hope they wouldn't run into anyone before they do get a brush or walls know what they might think.

"By the way," Eren spoke up again, "while we're on the subject, Hanji keeps asking me for us to let her name the baby."

"Over my dead body."

"That's what I told her. Well, not in those words, but basically; yeah."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you feel the need to bring it up?"

"Because she won't stop asking and I don't know how else I should tell her no without straight up telling her no," Eren half-whined, half-groaned.

"Then just tell her to fuck off. I don't see the problem," Levi retorted matter-of-factly.

The omega gasped, sitting up properly to fully convey how horrified by the idea he was. Levi was sadly proven right as his hair looked every bit as just-fucked as the alpha feared. "I can't do that, she's my superior!"

The alpha rolled his eyes. "She won't give a shit."

"Well I do! I can't talk like that to my superiors!"

"You talk like that to me all the time."

"Only when were alone, in private situations, like, when I talk to you as my mate and not as my Captain! Hanji is not... I can't do that with her!" Eren looked more and more scandalized by the second.

"Then tell her you're quoting me or whatever. Or don't and listen to her whine. Your choice."

Eren glared at Levi for a moment before he huffed and left, slamming the door behind him. Levi only shook his head in amusement before he went back to planning the training regimen for the squad for the next week.

Armin was pretty sure he was going to be late for training and would have to face the consequences if he was really going to do this now. But he thought about it during lunch and the after-lunch free time and he had to see Hanji and confirm his theory. And if his patience had anything to say about it, he had to see her as soon as possible or he was going to wonder about it the whole time during training, end up being distracted and getting extra laps anyway so what was the harm? He just had to be quick about it.

The beta took a deep breath before knocking loudly at the door to Hanji's lab. To his surprise, it wasn't Hanji who answered the door, but rather Moblit.

"Oh, Armin, what did you need?"

"Ah, umm, is Squad leader Hanji here?" Armin asked nervously. He didn't expect this development.

Moblit smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry but no. Squad leader left right after lunch on some business in town. She should be back by this evening."

"Oh..." the blond slumped dejectedly, resigning to having to wait.

"What did you need? Can I help you instead?" Moblit questioned, hoping to be of help to the bright young soldier, who suddenly looked so down.

Armin smiled sadly, shaking his head. "No, it's okay. I'll wait for Squad leader to come back. Thank..." Armin trailed off, before his eyes suddenly lit up, and his whole being perked up noticeably. "Actually, maybe you can! Han- Squad leader Hanji mentioned it was you who did most of the research on the dynamics, is that right?"

Moblit blinked several times, taken aback by the sudden burst of energy emitting from the blond beta. "Well... yes that's true."

"Great! Can I ask you about something?"

"Co-Come in, then." Moblit stepped back, making room for Armin to slip in, still not quite comprehending what just happened, but happy nonetheless. Finally someone who appreciates his qualities as more than just Squad leader Hanji's damage controller.

After he closed the door, Moblit went over to sit down on one of the chairs by the lab table, gesturing for Armin to sit next to him. Once they were both comfortable, the brown haired beta prompted, "So, what did you want to know?"

Armin tucked one of his blond locks behind an ear before starting to explain as vaguely as he could. "So, I was just wondering, how we can tell someone's dynamic, that's the pheromones, right?"

"Yeah, basically." Moblit nodded in agreement. "Of course there are some physical signs as well but those can be misleading."

Armin hummed, taking a second to think about his next words. "Then... is it possible for someone to give off pheromones of other dynamic then is their own?"

Moblit cocked his head to the side in confusion before answering slowly, "No, that's impossible. There have been reported some cases of people with mixed dynamic but they emitted pheromones of both those dynamics at once. Those cases are extremely rare, though, and the affected individuals had also obvious physical and mental development problems. In fact I think only one of them lived past her tenth birthday."

Armin made a sound of surprise and obvious interest. He had to stop himself from asking about it further as he had more pressing issues to focus on. "Okay, in that case would it be possible to cover your dynamic?"

"Well..." Moblit rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "Theoretically, if you knew about how the base of dynamic detection is in pheromones, it might be possible. There is the possibility of operation and taking out the scent glands but that would be highly dangerous and probably leave an ugly scar even if it were successful."

"And is there any other way?" Armin prompted, basically balancing at the edge of his seat.

"Maybe some kind of perfume that would be able to cover the scent? But it would either have to be developed very specifically to disguise that one person's dynamic, which would be difficult, or be very, very strong." The assistant scientist scrunched up his nose at the prospect of there being a perfume smelling strong enough to cover person's pheromones. They would probably stink up miles around them.

Armin grinned, getting to the core of his questioning. "So, theoretically speaking, it might be possible, if difficult, to make it so that a person seems like one dynamic but is actually another?"

Moblit frowned. "Theoretically, yes. But I can't imagine how much research and effort one would have to put into that. Or why they would even want to do that."

Armin wanted to scream in victory. He was right! However, he glanced at the clock hanging on the wall instead before jumping up, and running for the door. If he hurried, he might make it to training just in the nick of time. "Thanks, Moblit! You were a great help! I appreciate it!" he called hastily before sprinting down the hall towards the back exit.

Moblit was left there completely dumbfounded, still staring at the spot occupied by Armin just seconds before. "What was this even about...?" he mumbled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief.

A/N: Is it too obvious what this was about? Okay. Sorry.

Shout out to Moblit, the Captain of the underrated SnK characters!